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Germany
Germany ''(German: Deustchland)'' officially the Federal Republic of Germany '(German: ''Bundesrepublik Deutschland) '' is a Federal Parliamentary Republic in Western part of Central Europe. It includes 16 constituent states. With about 62 million inhabitants before the time of its dissolution, Germany was once one of the most populous country of Europe throughout the 21st century. Known for its rich cultural history, Germany has been continuously the home of influential and successful artists, philosophers, musicians, sportspeople, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, and inventors. It suffered greatly as a result of the Exporter Crisis. History 'Ancient ' Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the German Confederation was formed in 1815. The German revolutions of 1848–49 resulted in the Frankfurt Parliament establishing major democratic rights. 'Post-Unification ' In 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire after several regional wars with the help of Otto von Bismarck. The treaty of unification of Germany was made after Germany won the Franco-Prussian War with France in 1871. In World War I, Germany joined Austria-Hungary, and again declared war on France. The war descended into a slow drawn out stalemate in the western front and became trench warfare. In the Eastern Front, the Central Powers fought with the Russian Empire and won after the Russians pulled out of the war following the Russian Civil War. World war I ended in 1918. Germany's emperor also had to give up his power after the German revolutions of 1918-19. France took Alsace from Germany and Poland got the Danzig corridor. After a revolution, the Second Reich ended and the democratic Weimar Republic began. The world was hit by the Great Depression in 1929 which led to the rise of Adolf Hitler, leader of the German Nazi party. In 1933 the Nazi seizure of power quickly led to the establishment of Nazi Germany which was built upon a dictatorship and consequently led to World War II and the Holocaust. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded: the democratic West Germany and the socialist East Germany. Following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990. 'Cold War and Post-Reunification After Germany surrendered, the Allies partitioned Berlin and Germany's remaining territory into four military occupation zones. The western sectors, controlled by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, were merged on 23 May 1949 to form the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland); on 7 October 1949, the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik). They were informally known as West Germany and East Germany. East Germany selected East Berlin as its capital, while West Germany chose Bonn as a provisional capital, to emphasize its stance that the two-state solution was an artificial and temporary status quo. The Federal Republic of Germany (once known as West Germany) was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993. It was once part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999. East Germany was an Eastern Bloc state under political and military control by the USSR via occupation forces and the Warsaw Pact. Although East Germany claimed to be a democracy, political power was exercised solely by leading members (Politbüro) of the communist-controlled Socialist Unity Party of Germany, supported by the Stasi, an immense secret service controlling many aspects of the society. A Soviet-style command economy was set up and the GDR later became a Comecon state. While East German propaganda was based on the benefits of the GDR's social programmes and the alleged constant threat of a West German invasion, many of its citizens looked to the West for freedom and prosperity. The Berlin Wall, rapidly built on 13 August 1961 prevented East German citizens from escaping to West Germany, eventually becoming a symbol of the Cold War. Ronald Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachov, Tear down this wall!" speech at the Wall on 12 June 1987 influenced public opinion, echoing John F. Kennedy's famous Ich bin ein Berliner speech of 26 June 1963. The fall of the Wall in 1989 became a symbol of the Fall of Communism, the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, German Reunification and Die Wende. East Germany was annexed into West Germany, thus the once known informal name as West Germany simply became known as Germany. During the 21st century, Germany is a great power with a strong economy. It was a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G7 (formerly G8), the G20, and the OECD. A global leader in several industrial and technological sectors, it is one of the world's largest exporter and importer of goods. It is a developed country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled and productive society. It upholds a social security and universal health care system, environmental protection, and a tuition-free university education. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999. Germany was a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G7 (formerly G8), the G20, and the OECD. 'Before Dissolution ' In 2100 some of the worst examples of civil unrest since the Great Reset had broken out across northern Europe over food shortages. The shortages were the result of an informal embargo against the Uganda tower and the Mediterranean Union by the colonies, but the end result was hunger and price gouging across Europe for essentials. In Germany, one of the worst of these riots led to clashes with police that eventually overwhelmed local security forces as the mob swarmed the Reichstag, killing the Chancellor and cabinet, and several members of the Bundestag. Those members of the German government who survived fled, leading to a complete breakdown in civil services and the military chain of command by October 2100. The US intervened in November 2100 to restore order. By the time the US had reached Germany the military was already divided with different Generals pledging loyalty to various Minister-Presidents, but the bulk of the German Armed Forces had consolidated around a provisional government established in Frankfurt, which willingly coordinated with the US to restore the rest of the country. The Poles had moved in with "peace keepers" into Eastern Germany, nearly setting off war with the US, who only backed down after Mexico recognized several breakaway Republics in the East, who quickly declared themselves Polish allies; a fact no doubt made easier because their governments had been completely infiltrated by Polish sympathizers. Most problamatically, Poland and Mexico both recognized the governments in Hannover AND Frankfurt, and agreed to recognize both states as American allies. The local governments despised eachother, but both had been claiming to be US allies since their founding, leaving the US to deal with the internal policis of not one German ally, but two. Making coordinating a united front against the other breakaway German states and more importantly the Poles, that much more difficult. Category:Former countries in Europe Category:Germany